Heat Pump Installation in Pell City, AL
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers St. Clair County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year, in a place that loses power
Your heat pump in Pell City works most of the year, not just a season or two. Heat from November through March, cooling from May through September. That is ten months with almost no rest between them.
Winter nights average 34°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heat on its own most days. Summer afternoons average 89°F, and it runs through all of it. A new split-system unit has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum as of 2023. Worth asking about power, too. St. Clair County has seen 60 damaging wind events and 3 winter storms over the past ten years, and most heat pumps need power to run at all.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 34°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it is the company and the people behind it that the state has tested and put on record, not this particular installation. The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors is who stands behind that record.
For a heat pump installation in St. Clair County, that license is what backs the person doing the work, but it is the local building office that checks the installation itself. Most cities and counties in Alabama require a permit for this job and an inspection once it is finished, and that inspection is what catches a bad refrigerant line or a unit that was not set up right, separate from whatever the state license already says about the contractor.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does both jobs a furnace can't, it heats in winter and cools in summer from one system. A furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner for the 5 months a year homes here need cooling. Which one costs less to run depends on local electricity and gas rates, and a contractor can walk through that math for your house.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only moves heat out of your home. A heat pump does that same job in summer, then reverses in winter and pulls heat from outside air into your home. That's why a heat pump can replace both your furnace and your air conditioner, while a straight air conditioner only handles the cooling side.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold, though it works harder as the temperature drops. Winter nights here average 34°F, which is well within the range a properly sized heat pump handles. A contractor can size the system for your house so it keeps up on the coldest nights of the season.